The recent airspace closure around El Paso, Texas, was caused by the U.S. Military shooting down a party balloon amid a behind-the-scenes spat with air safety officials, multiple reports say.
That contradicts the explanation provided on Tuesday by administration officials, which claimed the closure was necessary because drones operated by Mexican drug cartels were being downed as they crossed the southern border.
Flights at the El Paso International Airport were grounded and inbound planes, including medical evacuation flights, were forced to divert 45 minutes away to Las Cruces, New Mexico, said the border city’s enraged mayor.
“I want to be very, very clear that this should’ve never happened,” Mayor Renard Johnson said in a news conference on Wednesday. “You cannot restrict air space over a major city without coordinating with the city, the airport, the hospitals, the community leadership… That failure to communicate is unacceptable.”
Sources tell CBS News the dramatic shoot-down and airspace closure “stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests,” suggesting friction between federal officials and the military.
The network’s sources said that Fort Bliss, which abuts the city’s airport, received new laser technology that the Pentagon, led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegeth, was itching to test ASAP to practice taking down drones.
The FAA, meanwhile, wished to hold meetings on “over safety impacts” scheduled for later this month, CBS reports. Sources also told The New York Times that the FAA had “concerns about the risks” the new anti-drone tech “could pose to other aircraft in the area.”
Neither the Pentagon nor the FAA responded to requests for comment. Mexican officials say they have seen no evidence that a drone was shot down at the border.
Airspace was initially announced as shut down in El Paso for 10 days, an unusual period for a commercial airport of that size, but it was reopened early Wednesday after it was determined there were no credible threats to air travel.
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